ENGLISH AS LINGUA FRANCA?
HAS ENGLISH become the world’s lingua franca? I offer two examples of this—and dispel one folk legend. A nuanced example involves computer science. A recent one definitively pertains to a … Continue reading
NIKUMARORO PERSON? KENNEWICK MAN?
WITHOUT SCIENCE, the weekly magazine of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, I wouldn’t know the latest in the search for Amelia Earhart. Nor would I know who … Continue reading
NON-DEPRESSING TALES OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION
ADVERSITY BREEDS its own humor, and the Great Depression is a perfect example of this. I’ve been enjoying The WPA Guide to America, whence came a lot of delightful tales. … Continue reading
OIL CRISES I HAVE KNOWN—AND LIVED THROUGH
FOR MORE than two years, we’ve had declining gasoline prices nationwide. (Congress: Investigate this skullduggery!) However, now it seems to be over in California. Not shortages, mind; just increases in price. … Continue reading
THE BOOKSHELVES AT 221B
THE SITTING room at 221b Baker Street, London, contained bookshelves, of course. But what were the books that Sherlock Holmes and his chronicler Dr. John H. Watson had on these … Continue reading
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN—75TH ANNIVERSARY
JULY 10 THROUGH October 31, 1940, marked one of the most valiant defenses in the history of human conflict, the Battle of Britain. Hitler sought air superiority in advance of … Continue reading
A CLOSE SHAVE WITH SET THEORY
YESTERDAY’S ITEM on countability mentioned Russell’s Paradox, but, in the interests of set-theoretic sanity, side-stepped details. Now that we’re rested, what the hey, why not delve into it? Among Bertrand … Continue reading
YOU CAN COUNT ON ME—OR MAYBE NOT
COUNTING SEEMS the most basic of mathematics, so isn’t it puzzling that lots of things are genuinely uncountable? To make any sense of this, let’s begin with the essence of … Continue reading
FROM LITHUANIA, WITH LOVE
I HAVE been remiss in scant praise of my ancestral homeland, Lithuania. Alas, when I toured nearby during especially historic times (see “He’s Got a Lot of Balts”), the pesky Russkies … Continue reading
THE CYBERPHILOLOGIST WILL SEE YOU NOW…
IN THE old days, I mean really old, the word “scientist” didn’t exist. I learned this reading “Megafauna,” by Adrienne Mayor, in the London Review of Books, July 2, 2015 … Continue reading
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